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Dan DiMaggio

Who will pay for a 5 percent raise, smaller classes, and more nurses, librarians, and counselors for the Chicago public schools? “Rich people,” Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Stacy Gates told the press.

Their contract expires in June. Meanwhile, fresh off the first charter school strike in history, the union set a February 5 strike date at another Chicago charter network.

Labor might be on the ropes, but it still knows how to throw a punch. 2018 saw thousands of teachers, campus workers, and hotel workers hit the streets in support of bold demands. What does it take to strike and win in the new Gilded Age?

To find out, Labor Notes Assistant Editor Dan DiMaggio spoke with activists on the front lines of some of 2018's biggest labor fights. This event was held on Monday, December 17.

What does a renegotiated NAFTA mean for workers in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico? At best, it might stem some of the bleeding.

The presidents of the U.S. and Mexico announced on August 27 that they had reached a deal. A month later, Canada is still out of the agreement, though negotiations are likely to continue over the next few months. Text of the draft deal between the U.S. and Mexico may be published as soon as today.

Arizona teachers struck statewide April 26 to May 3 over low pay and underfunding due to years of tax cuts.

Governor Doug Ducey had promised 20 percent raises heading into the strike, but teachers were skeptical that money would materialize. Their demands also included raises for other school employees and a return of funding to 2008 levels.

Pueblo teachers and paraprofessionals struck from May 7 to 11, the first school strike in Colorado in 24 years.

The teachers had been working without a new contract since the school year began. Their school district was refusing to grant them a 2 percent cost-of-living increase and to increase contributions to their health insurance, even after an independent factfinder recommended those modest improvements.